PHOENIX — As the Carmelo Anthony saga dragged along in its fifth month (or is it year?) Wednesday, there was a faint sense of optimism around some on the periphery, despite team execs having plugged leaks before apparently moving out-of-state under assumed names and the reappearance of the Knicks on the scene.
Monday, the optimism that pervaded the situation the previous night had dimmed considerably. Though it did not seem back to where it was — and part of that was the unavailability of anyone even remotely involved — one NBA source maintained something could break after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
Avery Johnson said nothing would happen on this road trip that starts here and it likely won’t unless the Nets want to field a team of six players, a couple janitors, a guy who’ll rebound for food, and 10-day-contract players. The logistics of getting a deal done are difficult, but one source maintains the attempt is to get it done before Russian Culture Night next Wednesday, when one Mikhail Prokhorov is in the house. Of course, the Nets just want it done.
The eight Nets rumored to be part of the trade all insist they are simply ignoring the 24/7, universal nature of the situation. Seven are here; an eighth, Troy Murphy, is in New Jersey, ostensibly with a virus (“I was sick recently and they probably didn’t want me giving anything to the team,” Murphy said).
Here’s how each guy says he’s dealing with it:
DEVIN HARRIS: “The same way I’ve been handling here all season. It’s no different. Rumors, come to practice, talk to you guys.”
DERRICK FAVORS: “Nope, no affect whatsoever. None.”
ANTHONY MORROW: “It’s pretty much all speculation, so like coach said, there’s going to be a different rumor every day, and when he said that, it made a lot of sense. Since the beginning of training camp, there’s been a lot of talk. Personally, I’m thankful to be in the NBA, thankful to be where I am and just looking forward to winning games with the New Jersey Nets. I’m happy to be here. I can’t control anything else.”
TROY MURPHY: “It’s been pretty much going on for a while so you just move forward and wait until something happens.”
BEN UZOH: “It hasn’t affected me. I continue to just prepare and think of the way I can help my team and continue to try to seize the opportunity.”
STEPHEN GRAHAM: “I don’t pay any attention to it. If it goes through, it goes through and at the end of the day, we’ve still got to do the same thing. We’ve got to come out here and play basketball. I’m not losing sleep on it.”
QUINTON ROSS: “Just take it how it is. If it happens it happens, if not, this is the NBA. Rumors are every day. I just try to block them out. If it happens, then deal with it.”
JOHAN PETRO: “You don’t deal with it. Honestly, you don’t. The only thing you can control is whatever happens on the court when you’re on the court. You can’t really try to get upset about it. It’s just part of the business. You just have to stay focused. Right now, you’re wearing this jersey and you have go play as hard as you can for this jersey.”
And here is Johnson’s take on what he sees: “It’s human nature, but right now it’s not necessarily about what’s right and what’s wrong and what’s true and false. These guys get paid to do a job, and we all do. And that’s the fine print of our contracts.
“There are always going to be rumors and speculation, but we’ve got to manage it. Whether it’s true or not, tonight is the game that’s our only game right now. It’s on the schedule, and we’ve got to come out and play hard and represent themselves, their families first, and our organization in the right way. And we have not done that the last two games.”
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Irina Pavlova, president of Prokhorov’s Onexim Sports and Entertainment conglomerate, is here and chatted with Johnson after the shootaround. Her trip had been previously planned.